"The little girl is dead, and that's that. Once Madam is well and has our child, the Qiao Family will be ours to command!"
"Let me go!" Sun Youde shouted loudly: "Qin An! Listen up! Lord's health is just fine, it's the first wife who is sick. If she recovers, she will bear Lord's child, not yours. If you don't let me go today, I'll report to the authorities and expose what you've done!"
Upon hearing this, Qin An slapped Sun Youde's face and said, "Don't forget, it was you who stripped Zheng's foolish son and lured him into the woodshed with a roasted chicken. If you report to the authorities, you won't fare well either!"
Seeing Sun Youde struggle less fiercely, Qin An continued, "You and I have committed adultery and murder, crimes that lead to execution. If you end up at the government office, do you think you could leave alive?"
Sun Youde completely lost the strength to resist, and by the time he came to his senses, Mrs. Zhang was already throwing a limp, delicate body on the ground.
"Youde, that harlot committed adultery and you disposed of the body. This little girl 'drowned while playing,' find a secluded place to bury her. Rest assured, I won't mistreat you in the future..."
Sun Youde nodded numbly and left the Qiao Mansion, going to the Funeral House, only to find the Shi Family's Funeral House had closed down.
With no choice, he followed the notice posted at the Vegetable Market, arriving at the Underground Street to order a small coffin at the Funeral Shop.
The shopkeeper was a handsome youth who worked briskly, akin to a seasoned master.
The two set a date, and Sun Youde returned to the Qiao Mansion.
First wife Mrs. Zhang found Sun Youde again and questioned him, "I told you to handle the little girl's body, why haven't you done it yet?"
Sun Youde said, "No one visits the second wife's courtyard. Leave it there for a day or two, and once the coffin I've ordered is ready, I'll bury her."
"A coffin? Who told you to order a coffin? Just toss it onto the Chaotic Tomb Ridge like her mother, where did this misplaced compassion come from?"
Sun Youde frowned and said, "This child didn't 'commit adultery.' If we casually discard her outside, aren't you worried the authorities will discover and investigate the mansion?"
Mrs. Zhang realized he had a point and said, "Be mindful, with the girl's body in the mansion, I feel uneasy."
That night, as Mrs. Zhang rested, she vaguely heard cries of a child in the mansion.
"Mother, obey obediently; Mother, obey obediently..."
Mrs. Zhang awoke in cold sweat, called her maid over, and asked if she heard anything. The maid said tremulously, "Madam, it seemed like the young miss's voice."
"Isn't she already drowned!"
The maid's voice trembled, "Maybe, maybe there's a haunting."
"A dead girl, could she still defy the heavens!"
Frightened and enraged, the next morning Mrs. Zhang brought Qin An and Sun Youde to the second wife's courtyard.
At this time, all the servants assumed the young miss had accidentally drowned and her body was unrecovered, unaware that the three of them hid her body in the second wife's courtyard.
After unlocking the gate, Mrs. Zhang cast a sideways glance at Sun Youde and said, "A lowly maid, just bury her anywhere; why bother buying a coffin!"
"If she had been buried earlier, she wouldn't be here causing mischief!"
Sun Youde, in a daze, paid no attention to Mrs. Zhang's words.
The group entered the courtyard, and in the room where the body lay, Mrs. Zhang instructed Qin An to fetch an old, worn-out box.
But the box was barely over two feet long, utterly incapable of holding the little girl's body.
"The coffin I ordered will be ready tomorrow, first wife, perhaps you could wait a bit..."
Mrs. Zhang's face twisted as she said, "The longer the little brat stays in the mansion, the more frustrated I feel. You might be able to wait, but I can't stand it a moment longer!"
Finished speaking, Mrs. Zhang seemed possessed, drew Qin An's knife, and lunged at the little girl's legs!
"First wife, you!" Sun Youde gaped, standing frozen.
Though Qin An was startled, he didn't think it inappropriate.
"This is my mansion, a stray beggar girl like you should have died outside with your mother, how dare you cause mischief to frighten me! In this world, if you wish to clear your name, only the Bao Sheng Goddess can manifest and personally advocate for you. Otherwise, even if you find your real father, it's useless..."
After severing the little girl's legs, Mrs. Zhang, eyes red and breath huffing, uttered nonsensical words while continuing to curse.
"Mad, mad!" Sun Youde stumbled backward, looking at Mrs. Zhang as if seeing a ghost, retreating to the door and saying, "For what you've done, retribution will come..."
Seeing Sun Youde attempting to flee, Qin An snatched the knife from Mrs. Zhang, deciding to go all-in, and chased him down with the blade!
Mrs. Zhang had never witnessed such a scene; blood sprayed on her face, silencing her in an instant.
Qin An wiped the knife, spat, and turned back, saying, "Madam, Sun Youde is unreliable. Leaving through this door, he might report to the government office. Better to kill him outright!"
On the ground lay Sun Youde's head, his mouth still moving silently.
Judging by the shape of his lips, he seemed to be repeating the words 'retribution.'
...
At the government forensic office, Xu Qing's expression was exceedingly grim.
No wonder the little girl followed Chen Liu'Er to the Bao Sheng Temple, no wonder she knelt before the statue, imploring the Bao Sheng Goddess to manifest.
It turns out it was all because of what Mrs. Zhang said after she severed the girl's legs—
'In this world, if you wish to clear your name, only the Bao Sheng Goddess can manifest and personally advocate for you!'
It turns out it was all because of what Mrs. Zhang said after she severed the girl's legs—
'In this world, if you wish to clear your name, only the Bao Sheng Goddess can manifest and personally advocate for you!'